Effective
management of a supply chain includes thinking creatively about how to integrate and
perform logistics and manufacturing activities. Postponement and speculation strategies
offer opportunities to achieve delivery of products in a timely and cost-effective manner
by rearranging the conventional production and logistics structures, which are often
designed and managed autonomously. Supply chain advancements have frequently been achieved
by reducing risk and uncertainty through the employment of sophisticated forecasting
techniques, with a low degree of cooperation and integration between the manufacturing and
logistics processes. By employing the concept of postponement and combining it with a
holistic view of the supply chain, a small number of best practice companies have managed
to increase the performance of their firms and the supply chain as a whole.